Pestilence
by death by storm
Summary: When Raito died, he went to nothingness. This nothingness has a special power however, and Raito like many others before him has fallen victim to its seductive ways. He will experience his greatest dream as a reality. LxLight yaoi. ON HIATUS Sorry!
1. Prologue

_Okay, basically I am posting this... because, well I wrote this on the bus today and decided to type it up despite the fact that I have no time whatsoever right now. Anyway, enjoy the first chapter of this weird fanfic idea I came up with._

**Warnings:** This fic contains alternate views of religion that coincide neither with my beliefs nor fully with any Christian beliefs that I know of. If this bothers you, well then don't complain if you read it.

**Summary: **When Raito died, he went to nothingness. This nothingness has a special power however, and Raito like many others before him has fallen victim to its seductive ways. He will experience his greatest dream as a reality. Meanwhile, the world has need for Kira. L, now an angel of the highest order in heaven is sent to retrieve him. Will L ;be able to break him out of his delusions? Or will he fall victim to his own sweet, tempting fantasies?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note

* * *

**Prologue**

In a bright shining world, there was no crime. To most, it was a place of peace. To some, a place to fear. To the young man sitting upon a throne ribbed with gold, it was paradise. He surveyed his creation with a satisfied smirk on his handsome features. Even L, that bastard of a detective had finally acknowledged that his way was true justice. Furthermore, L had also become his greatest supporter. There was nothing more he could possibly want. Misa had died years ago; fading into the background along with her usefulness.

Down below him, some of the masses toiled away erecting a stone statue in his likeness. Others went about their daily routine making sure that everything was running smoothly. Raito knew that of course. He was God; a saviour unto his people. He was all seeing, all knowing, all powerful. The ultimate form of justice. He was benevolent, but at the same time he was ruthless and cold. His family loved what he had done with the world; how he had reshaped it.

"My lord Kira," a call came out. Raito looked down and saw L, whom he had made his right hand man not only for the detective's sharp intelligence, but for the irony of it all. Behind the raven-haired man were two missionaries clad in light armour holding a man captive between them. A crowd of eager onlookers was already gathering in hopes of seeing another act of justice from their God. Raito had to hold back a smirk at this.

"What is it, Lawliet?" he asked softly though he knew already.

"This man was found outside of the city. A woman reported that he had taken her purse."

"Bring this woman forth and allow her to tell me the story in her own words," Raito sid.

L motioned the two missionaries to step aside and moved over also to allow the young woman to move forward. As her face caught the light, Raito could see it streaked with tears and remembered terror. Raito could understand how she felt. Not only was she a victim of a rare occurrence, but she was also female. Women were weak, emotional beings. It was only to be expected.

He gazed down at her. "Tell me what happened," he said not unkindly.

"Oh K-Kira, it was awful!" she fell to her knees and began to sob openly. "I-I was walking down the street at about two in the morning on my way home from work and this-this man suddenly jumped out from an alleyway and attacked me! He just tore the purse right out of my hands and ran off. I screamed for help. It was just luck that one of your officers was nearby or else he would have gotten away."

"Miss, what is your name?" Raito asked.

"Anna," she said quietly.

"Well, we'll just take care of this criminal who would threaten the moral order of our great society. Anna, you have done well. Everyone is grateful to you."

" Thank you, Kira-sama," she murmured before rising to her feet and giving a quick curtsy. She then turned and stepped into the excited crowd.

Raito's eyes widened slightly and he activated the power which would allow him to read the name of the condemned man. "Jeremy Thatcher," he said.

The man only had a moment to gasp before his chest seized and he collapsed. The missionaries waited a moment and then picked up the body of the deceased. They began to drag him out of Raito's sight.

"Kira! Kira! Kira!" His supporters screamed this unendingly.

Raito began to laugh. Even after all these years, his perfect world never got old and it only shone brighter.

L was sitting on a cloud and watching Earth. He did this more out of habit now than anything. Raito was dead, and so were Mello and Matt, the second and third successors to his name. The only person he had vague attachment to now was Near. Even that was merely because he was his heir and not because of any emotional bond.

L could admit to himself that when he had died, he was surprised not only over the fact that there was an afterlife, but that he had ended up in 'heaven' so to speak. After all, he may have worked for the side of 'justice' but that did not mean that he was not selfish. He had only taken cases that interested him. He had also destroyed the lives of the other top two detectives in the world, Eraldo Coil and Deneuve. On top of that, he had manipulated pretty much everyone around him. L could also admit that he lied almost all of the time.

Apparently, that hadn't mattered nearly as much as he had thought. What he had done for humanity by discovering who Kira was, even though he had died before he could prove him guilty far outweighed that. He had also done God a favour by paving the path to Kira's capture. It had been annoying Him that so many souls were dying before the time He had alloted them on Earth. God had decided that he had done enough good not only to earn him a place in heaven, but to become the archangel assigned to guard against calamities as well.

L had analyzed God after this. His conclusion was that He was every bit as childish as Kira and would favour whomever He personally liked no matter if they were completely good or bad. It didn't really matter though. L didn't particularly care _why_ he was here. It was more important to him that he _was_ here and as this was heaven, he got whatever he desired. Well, almost. It was still very hard to find someone who could hold up a decent conversation. He almost missed Kira just because of that.

L sighed and willed a bowl full of strawberries into existence. He popped a strawberry into his mouth and continued to muse. In fact heaven wasn't all it was cracked up to be. In a place where a person could get almost whatever he or she desired on a whim, he noticed that roughly twenty five percent of the recently dead had chosen to surround themselves with whatever material good they could not have on Earth. The homes of the newly dead looked like a regular middle class neighbourhood. Even though this came as no surprise to L, he couldn't help but be rather annoyed with this. It was rather boring to look at.

On the other hand, a lot of the people who did that were generally unhappy. L had noted this with bemusement in the past and understood why God had allowed them in. He noticed that after a few years at least some of the souls would drop this facade and move on. There were still a good half of them that would keep the same lifestyle they had on Earth and were very happy to.

Those who did move on either requested the angels for a job to do in heaven, or entertained themselves in a new way. There were a lot of 'bad' souls there as well. Apparently God had allowed Lucifer the Light one wish before he fell. The request that Lucifer had was to have any soul that would change without having to go to hell be let into heaven, no matter what its sins. That was why there were so many of those souls who were unhappy and filled with petty greed up here.

There was one more thing that echoed Earth almost exactly. There were still research institutions, public schools, and universities up here. Knowledge was one of those few things that people still had to work for and was not attained just by willing it. L did know that the schools had originally started to educate the souls that had died too young to be able to read and write. The mind still matured in these souls, and if they wished, the body did as well.

L had also wondered on many a day where Raito had ended up. He had eventually decided that his soul must have been obliterated or was wandering around aimlessly. What else could the Death Note have meant by 'the human who uses this note can go to neither heaven nor hell.' Then again, the Death Note had also stated that all humans went to nothingness when they died and L knew that wasn't true.

L sighed, ate another strawberry out of the bowl and cast his eyes back to Earth. As he did so, he found his thoughts turning back to Mello and Matt. Both of them had made it to heaven and that was because their services also far outweighed their sins. Though because Mello was involved in the Mafia, and had killed many himself, and Matt had been lazy and apathetic with the exception of when it had come to Mello, they were angels instead of archangels like him.

"Lawliet-sama! Lawliet-sama!" one of the cherubs – angels that had been around since before the time of humans – came zooming up.

L turned. "What is it?" he asked.

"God wants you! God wants to talk to you! Something bad is happening on Earth!" Its huge brown eyes were wet with tears.

"Tell him that I'll be there in a few minutes," L sighed. It was a good thing that he wasn't very far from the castle.

"Can do!" the creature chirped brightening instantly. It saluted him, stole one of L's strawberries, and zipped off at an alarming speed.

L looked sadly at his bowl and banished it before he stood up. He spread his huge, white, feathered wings and pushed off his cloud with ease. As always, there was a very nice updraft on the way to the white, open roofed stone building that God lived in most of the time. It was a glory to see, designed to inspire awe in the souls who passed through the entrance to be judged. L swooped in and landed just inside the brightly lit stone structure. As he walked forward, the light became blinding and he had to shield his eyes. He stopped when he sensed he was close enough to God and gave a curt nod in His direction.

"What calamity has happened?" he asked.

"I am sure you have heard of the term biological warfare?" God said.

L stared at him for a moment. "Of course."

"It turns out that several countries have been developing these biological weapons for the last few decades. Tensions have mounted worldwide on a scale not seen since World War two and the Cold War. I do not want to judge so many souls and lose my free time so it is your job to defuse these tensions as quickly as possible. I will also be assigning you a partner.

"It is also your job to retrieve your partner before you two go down to Earth."

L swallowed, a habitual reflex he no longer truly needed. There first person that came to his mind was an impossible thought. It was hard to fathom that he would be assigned to someone whose whereabouts were unknown. Then again it probably was him that he had to find. He knew God would find it amusing at the very least and the person in question would be a great help.

"I believe you know him," God said "Kira."

"Raito Yagami."

"Yes."

"No. I expect you to be able to control him. He has a soft spot for you. The Shinigami King has been kind enough for him to give him full access to his powers."

"You threatened him, didn't you," L stated dryly.

"What I do is none of your concern. When you have fetched Kira, a portal will open up and you will be guided back here. I will then direct you to Earth."

L narrowed his eyes mentally at the deity. He was disgusted with him. It wasn't like he could not have sent one of the other denizens of heaven down before this. He knew God was always aware of what was happening. The deity just wanted to amuse himself.

"You should know that I can hear all that you think, Lawliet."

"I am perfectly aware of that."

He wasn't surprised when God began to chuckle. After all, he was supposed to know everything about everyone. That didn't mean that the Almighty was any less prone to fallacy. Just like the fallacy he was committing by sending Kira to Earth with L.

"One more thing, Lawliet," God said. "Kira is in the world of nothingness; the one I created to house the souls that are irredeemable. It will show you the thing you want most in this world. You'll have to break the illusion. To break Kira's fantasy, you must make him realize that what he is experiencing is indeed not real."

L sensed God wave his hand carelessly in a gesture of power. A portal opened with the edge of it just at his feet.

"Well, off you go."

L was immediately sucked into the portal.

End Prologue.

* * *

_Eh... I like Shinigami better than this.. anyway please review. Constructive criticism is appreciated. _


	2. Deepest Desire

_Six reviews? Yay I'm so lucky! XD. Even if one of them was complaining about the views of the afterlife and God expressed in this story. Therefore, I have rephrased my warning:_

**Warning:** The religious themes and how God acts in this story are not my true opinion nor are they meant to be an accurate portrayal of any religion. God is also portrayed as a flippant individual in this story. If you don't like it, don't say I didn't warn you... I really don't have to warn about the relationship between L and Raito in this story... do I?

_Another thing, I looked up the hierarchy of Christian angels on wikipedia yesterday... I learned that archangels aren't the highest order in heaven but they are the highest order of angels that actually have contact with humans... so for the sake of my story I am keeping him an archangel._

* * *

Chapter 2 Pestilence

Deepest Desire

"Lawliet. Lawliet wake up," came a familiar voice.

Lawliet opened his eyes to see a worried Raito hanging over him. Lawliet jumped as the man's eyes seemed to flash red. He glanced in a panic to the left and then to the right and relaxed. He looked up and saw the warm honey brown eyes of his koi staring back at him tinged faintly with concern.

"I was worried," Raito continued once he saw that he had L's attention. "You never sleep that long."

"It happens very rarely, Raito," Lawliet said quietly.

"Well we have been living together for a long time," Raito retorted. "Did you expect me not to know why?"

"Raito-koi," L said calmly as he bit on his thumb. "I need to be alone for a few moments."

Raito sighed when he found out that Lawliet wasn't going to tell him anything. Again. "I'll be downstairs," he said and quickly left the room.

Lawliet sat up and crouched down in his usual sitting position. It was much harder to do so here than on a chair, but he didn't want his koi bothering him. His mind immediately flashed back to the dream.

_ It was a few weeks after Higuchi had been captured. L and Raito were sitting at their desks. L was talking to Watari over the intercom when it happened. He heard Watari groan and collapse on the other line. _

_ "Watari? Watari!" he cried out trying to smother the panic rising in his chest ._

_ The computer screens he was sitting in front flashed black and then turned on. He leaned forward in shock as the words 'All Data Deletion' played across them. He turned swiftly to look to see if Raito was sitting beside him. The boy was looking up at the blank screens in shock. _

_ L whipped back around looking for the shinigami, Rem. He couldn't see her anywhere. Then it occurred to him. "Everyone, the shiniga-" His chest spasmed and an overwhelming pain began to sweep through his upper torso and left arm. He teetered and lost his precarious balance, falling towards the floor on the left. L was dimly aware of a familiar set of arms catching him before he hit the ground and gently lowering him. He reached up and gripped Raito's shoulders as the deep sting of betrayal ran through him. _

_ He had always wished with all of his heart that the other wasn't Kira. It was... truly regretful that he was. Raito wore a demented smirk, as he stared down at him, his eyes flashing red. _'I... wasn't wrong... but I...'_ L closed his eyes. He felt his hands weaken and fall to the floor. His body relaxed and went limp as the pain faded._

Lawliet tore his mind back from the memory of the dream. He knew that Kira was gone. There had been no killings since Higuchi had been caught and executed. Misa had been caught as the original Kira. He sighed and slid off of the bed. There was no use thinking about this now. He had a case to work on and sitting here wasn't going to aid him in the least. After all, he hadn't had any sugar yet and his body and mind both felt sluggish to him for it.

Lawliet cautiously slid off of the bed and onto the floor. He stretched his stiff muscles, before he pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. The smell of brewing coffee met his nose. He sighed happily. They had come to an agreement that Raito would be the one to make the coffee in the mornings after Lawliet had discovered that his skills didn't extend to brewing the stuff or cooking in general. In a very simplified version of the story of what happened that first morning together, he had set both the toaster and coffee pot on fire within five minutes of each other. Raito had been mildly amused and had teased him about it for ages afterwards.

He shook his head and found himself downstairs. Lawliet entered the kitchen. Raito was at the counter pouring a freshly brewed cup of coffee. The other didn't notice him. Lawliet smirked and slipped his arms around Raito's waist and felt his lover jump in surprise. He sighed and closed his eyes before leaning his head on the other's shoulder. The warmth radiating from Raito was pleasant. He could stand there for quite awhile if he wanted to.

Raito dropped the coffee pot and with a clatter it fell in the sink. He turned around swiftly in Lawliet's arms. Lawliet lifted one of his hands up to the other's face and tilted his chin up slightly to meet his soft lips. The other relaxed against him and kissed back. Raito looked back up at him when they parted.

There was no way that Raito could be Kira. He had just been a suspect and that was how the two had first met, but it had become apparent rather quickly that he wasn't after they had been chained together for awhile. Raito had aided him in solving the case as well.

That was already a few years ago now. Raito had become chief of the NPA recently which meant that he couldn't move around with Lawliet all of the time on his cases which the detective was worried it might cause a rift between them. He vowed silently to only ever travel abroad if there were no interesting cases in Japan.

"I don't have work today," Raito stated with a smirk as he slipped out of Lawliet's grasp.

"I do," Lawliet replied. "I have the McPherner case to work on."

"I thought you said you had no cases," Raito said. "That's why I took this day off."

"I apologize, Raito-koi. If I had known sooner, I would not have accepted it last night,"

"How about I help you go over evidence in the morning and we can do something this afternoon?"

"That would be fine."

Lawliet poured a cup of coffee for himself and opened the drawer below the coffee maker. Boxes upon slim boxes of sugar cubes lay there. He grabbed the half empty one near the front and closed it. He then set about lifting the tab and dropping several sugar cubes into the steaming drink. Carefully he guided the cup to his mouth and took a cautious sip. The taste was adequate.

Raito leaned on the counter beside him sipping his own coffee. It was amazing that the man was up at this time in the morning on his day off. Then again, Raito was rather extraordinary. He would have just said that his sleeping schedule would be thrown off if he did something like that. Lawliet wasn't complaining. Raito was amusing and dare he say it cute to look at around this time in the morning. His normally immaculate hair was out of place. Several tufts of it stuck up in every direction. And his night clothes were also creased. Raito, of course, still looked beautiful.

Kira... the word popped up in L's mind again. He hadn't thought of Kira since the case had ended years ago. So why in the last few months then? L shook his head. It didn't matter anymore. Kira had been caught, convicted, and executed. L placed his cup on the counter and stared off into space deep in thought.

"Need to talk?" Raito asked.

"Well I have already narrowed down the suspects in the McPherner case down to three. Shitaki Yuta, -"

"Dammit Lawliet! That's not want I mean!" Raito yelled suddenly and stepped closer to him. L could see his hand clench into a fist. "You've been like this for nearly three months! Why don't you tell me what those dreams are about?"

"They're just dreams," L mumbled.

"They must mean something if you keep having them," Raito replied. "What is bothering you so much that it is messing up your sleeping patterns? You look sick!"

"I... don't know if you want to hear the answer to that," L replied.

"What sort of answer could be so terrible?" Raito demanded.

"I... I keep having dreams about you as Kira," came the admission. "The dream takes place just after the time we are chained together and a few weeks after Higuchi was caught. We still suspect that there is another Kira out there and you agree to help me catch him.

"It happens rather suddenly, Watari and I are talking over the intercom. He dies and deletes all of the data on the Kira case. Then I have a heart attack, caused by you. The last thing I see before I die is you hanging over me with a smirk on your face," L stated quietly.

"That's terrible!" Raito exclaimed.

"It feels so real," L muttered.

"Don't be silly Lawliet! Dreams are just your brain experimenting with what ifs or practicing what you have learned during the day."

"Apparently, mine is different Raito-koi," Lawliet stated dryly.

Raito's lips twitched at this as he fought down the urge to smile at the statement. "There is no denying that," he said dryly. "You are alive, and we both know that Watari died a year ago. From old age and not from Kira."

"You are right of course."

Lawliet took a sip of his coffee and grimaced. The thick liquid in the cup was now cold and danced unpleasantly across his taste buds.

"What is the McPherner case about?" Raito asked to change the subject.

"As I said earlier, I have already narrowed down the suspects to three people. "Shitaki Yuta, Omori Akira, and Seguchi Oda. You have heard of the murders where that ancient Celtic cross is engraved into the victim's chest postmortem?"

"Yes of course," Raito replied. "I have a couple of teams of detectives working on the case. We believe it to be the work of one of those cults that sprung up after Kira disappeared."

"The suspects that I have listed are the people I suspected as the leaders of the Cross-bearers which have publicly claimed responsibility for the killings. They're the ones that believe Kira was another saviour such as Jesus sent from God."

"I assumed the superintendent called you in?" he said.

"Yes, he called me to see if I was interested in working on this case." Lawliet said. "I had already thought about working on it so I agreed. I assume that you are not working on the case yourself, Raito-koi?"

Raito shook his head and took another sip of his cooling drink. "There hasn't been time lately to work on any other cases. Half of my assistants quit last week. I have more than enough paperwork to keep me busy."

Raito finished his coffee and set the cup in the dishwasher before going upstairs. "I'm going to take a shower," he said.

About half an hour later, Raito and Lawliet were in the basement looking through the files on the case. L kept glancing to his right as he was again and again reminded of Kira. The dream flashed through his mind again. Why was it so real? Come to think of it, when exactly had he and Raito gotten together? That in itself was strange. He couldn't remember the date or the first time they had sex or any of that. It was like they had existed in the state that they were in now for years. It was a disturbing thought. Why didn't he remember?

"Raito, do you remember the day that we became like we are now?" he asked.

"November 5, 2004," Raito replied promptly not even turning away from his computer. That was another strange thing. Raito himself was acting odd. Normally he would... would what? What would Raito do normally? L rubbed his temples as he felt a headache coming on. It was too warm down here. He felt like he was suffocating. He felt that Raito would have normally punched him to knock some sense in him. His koi was hardly the person you would go to if you wanted some sympathy or a kind word. A pounding on his shoulder blades broke out and added to the banging in his head and the shuddering of his heart. Goose-flesh broke out over his skin and he shivered.

"Is something wrong, Lawliet-koi?" Raito turned to him in concern.

Once again L saw his eyes flash red before fading back to the normal warm honey brown which he was so accustomed to. He couldn't stop the violent shivers that began to wrack his body even as the temperature of the room warmed. This agitation was slowing down his thought process. Why did he declare Raito innocent? He knew that he had only caught the second Kira, Misa and the third Kira Higuchi; but what about the first Kira? Why hadn't he caught him and declared the case closed instead when the killings stopped? That wasn't like him. He would have searched for the perpetrator in that case until he died if the case need have been.

L had died ... no that wasn't right. He couldn't have possibly died. He felt his heart pounding so hard in his chest that it felt like it might explode.

"Lawliet?" Raito asked.

"Raito, how do you know my name if I never told you?" L said quietly.

"Sure you did," Raito replied. "Right after you and I got together."

_That never happened... _L gasped in surprise as he felt a weight on his back, unknown, but familiar at the same time. He reached around and gently touched feathers? His mind felt like it was being pulled at the seams and threatened to snap as it began to break free of the illusion. There was no way this could be real. He didn't have wings and Raito wasn't this kind.

"Lawliet-koi-" Raito's voice cut off as the image and sensations in front of him shattered into countless fragments.

L's world went black.

* * *

_Well, that was fun to write even though I feel it came out a little choppy at the beginning... Please review!_


	3. Kira

_So yes, I will be updating this fic and Shinigami alternately. So next Saturday is Shinigami and the one after that will be Pestilence. I do have an idea where I am going with this. Though the beginning of this chapter seems to be a bit awkwardly worded to me but maybe it is just me. _

**Warnings:** Well there are no real instances in this chapter, this story gives off an entirely different spin on the afterlife and portrays God differently. This is done purely for the story. If you don't like it, and read this, well, I warned you.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note.

_One more thing, I had a question come in from a reviewer. To answer the question for anyone else who is wondering. L and Kira are both in Nothingness. My story is based on the idea that Nothingness is a place not a state of existence._

And crimson mist, thank you for the review.

* * *

Pestilence Chapter 3

Kira

L became swiftly aware of a blinding white light. His wings twitched on his back as his now streaming eyes adjusted themselves to his surroundings.

At first he thought that there was just the white of Nothingness. He looked closer and found his perception was off. There seemed to be bubbles of differing shades of grey surrounding him. They were spaced haphazardly, though L knew immediately that he could maneuver around them if he so wished. In his immediate reach there were tiny spheres of the same matter floating around him. He knew immediately that it was what remained of his shattered ideal reality. Curiously, he lifted his hand and poked one of the left over globules curiously. It jiggled and a slight shiver wracked his frame when Raito's face surfaced in his mind for an instant.

L never had expected that his deepest desire was to experience an intimate relationship with someone. Raito was probably just symbolic of that. After all, he was the only one that he considered equal. L also knew that an equal was the only one whom he would consider to have a proper relationship with. Even though he wasn't attracted to Raito, it would only make sense that he would show up as a representation of that. L never had had any ideal person to have that sort of relationship with. He had long ago dismissed the idea thinking that he would never get the chance anyway in his line of work. It still surprised him though because he didn't have any active desire to be in a relationship.

Still, as interesting a matter as it was, this was no time to worry about such trivialities. The issue of the bubbles was a much more pressing matter. They obviously held those souls that were considered incurably evil. It was a rather clever concept, the idea to isolate those who would harm others in such a way. L instinctively knew however, that the darker the bubble, the darker the mind within.

L flapped his wings, finding that although he couldn't really walk per se in this world, he could still fly. Every time he flexed his wings, he was propelled forward. The bubbles seemed to be aware of his presence, and moved out of his way as he searched for Raito's illusion. _Kira,_ he thought, mentally correcting himself. There was a large difference between the Raito that his fantasies were played upon and the man that existed in his place. L felt an instinctual tug pulling him in the direction of the bubble that no doubt housed Kira's soul.

It didn't take that long, really, to find Kira's bubble. The light around L had been slowly dimming as he traveled forward. Finally, two bubbles moved out of the way and revealed what he knew immediately to be the one that house Kira. The grey colour seemed to be emitting from it. Though he imagined that Kira's wasn't the exception to the rule. There was a good chance that many of those who had killed a similar amount to Kira would also have that particular colour surrounding them. What he found odd about it was the fact that it was pitch black, but just off the centre there was a patch of pure white, similar to a reflection of light one would see on a normal bubble.

L reached out to touch the bubble curiously, almost afraid that it would pull him in. It shimmered, rippled, and then rebounded as his fingers graced the outer membrane. A little white gleamed on the surface of the thing briefly before fading into black. _Interesting, _he thought. He couldn't help but shudder at the image that had come unbidden to his mind's eye. He got the impression of Kira sitting on a literal pedestal as God, more arrogant than ever. He couldn't help but wonder. Would breaking this illusion Raito was strongly attached to - would it also shatter his mind? It was a distinct possibility. After all, it had been a little hard to accept that what he had saw was not reality. It had been even harder to accept that what had happened in his bubble was his deepest desire. In a way, it made sense. Like all humans, L had to have some latent desire for companionship. People who went without it at all were rumored to have been driven mad by their own thoughts and to sometimes degenerate mentally by years.

It was interesting really, but not the problem at hand. He reached out his hand and touched the bubble's surface again. Once again he met resistance. L frowned and thrust his hand forcefully through it's oily surface. Immediately, he felt something grab his hand and pull. Instinctively, he tried to pull back; but like large fish eating a smaller, the bubble ate him in one gulp.

Darkness first met L's eyes and he had to blink rapidly to adjust to the dim world inside of Mu. At least he was aware of it this time. He glanced around and realized that he was standing in the middle of the street. Around him, gleaming buildings rose into the sky, the sidewalks were without a scrap of litter, and there was a fresh feeling to the air. People walked down the street relaxed and happy. It almost made L want to relax. He wouldn't however. The atmosphere had a very sterile feeling to it and the people walking seemed all the same. He stepped forward in order to avoid getting hit by a car. Curious glances were occasionally tossed his way. As L watched closely, he realized that the curious glances were being thrown at him every five seconds, and there was a soulless expression in their eyes that well matched his own. He allowed himself to look at their movements. The peoples' movements were jerky, as if they were only dolls, their strings being pulled by an invisible puppet master.

L stepped onto the sidewalk. There was a gasp and the people paused for a moment, their eyes sparkling in fake wonder before they rushed forward in one mass. He realised that they were mindlessly heading for the same direction. There was a good chance that Raito was located in the direction that they were headed. L began to walk in the same direction, taking care to stay to the side so he would not be run over by the doll people.

He had only gone a few blocks before a shining pedestal suddenly came into view. Curious, L blended into the crowd as it slowed down and entered a large space similar to a Roman arena.

It began as a murmur first, then a deafening roar began to be heard over the stadium.

"Kira! Kira! Kira!" the people began to scream mindlessly.

L looked down below. There was an entrance off to the side. From it, four figures came into view. The cheers of the crowd became deafening. The first man and the one leading the other three was to L's amazement, L himself and in white shining armour. He watched himself walk up to the center of the area and fall to one knee before a smirking Kira. Outrage rushed through L's veins even as his face remained stony. How dare Kira reduce him to something like this? It was utterly disgraceful what he had reduced his image to. At the same time, it was something that was well within Kira's personality. He calmed his anger almost immediately and thought logically. There was surely a way that he could use this.

There was one thing that he wondered. Would Kira even be able to see him? It was doubtful. He didn't fit properly into Kira's deepest desire the way that he was. That was fairly obvious from the fact that his look a like was dressed in white armour and bringing sinners to the self-proclaimed god's feet. There was only one way around this then. To be noticed and acknowledged by him, L would have to act in a manner that would cause Kira to take notice. Unfortunately for him, that meant he would have to pretend to acknowledge Kira's ideals. It went against everything that he believed in.

L sighed and let his mighty brain work towards a solution. It was so hard to do this without sugar. Since he was obviously not in Heaven anymore, he couldn't just have it because he wanted it. He also didn't want to taste any of the sugar that was a part of this world. Chances were, it would just taste like bitter salt anyway. Kira and indeed Raito had never been a fan of sweets.

L thought briefly about committing a crime to get Kira's attention but quickly dismissed the idea. He would easily get caught and that was not because of the vigilance of Kira's followers, but for the fact that it was his ideal world. Anyone caught acting out that sort of deed would face the Death Note or in this case, one with the power to kill at will.

The cheers of the crowd rose to a clamouring peak, pulling him out of his thoughts. He glanced up to the platform. Upon it was the man who had been dragged in earlier. L assumed that he had just been given a guilty verdict.

"Let the sentence be carried out!" Kira shouted dramatically. The crowd fell silent in anticipation. L kept track in his head and after forty seconds of pleading, the man fell to the ground, no longer among the living. The detective shuddered. Though he couldn't see it from here, he knew that the same smirk that had graced Kira's face when he breathed his last was now upon his lips now as well.

It made sense, the why the fugitive had been killed the way he had. Kira had to use the Death Note to kill someone originally. Despite this, L figured that he would feel like it was through his will that criminals were dying. As such, he was not limited to the Death Note or its rules in his world. Though he found one thing odd. Kira still followed the forty second rule. Then again, the other had a great love for dramatics and could have just deliberately delayed the man's death to hear him beg. L could just reference his own death or any of the many times that the other had denied being Kira.

L just thought about making himself known by lying about his support for Kira. In Kira's perfect world, he suspected that everyone would be honest and true to each other. This was an assumption made by Kira, just like the assumption that everyone supported him, and that there was no one opposing him at that particular moment.

There was one way in which he could get himself noticed. He needed to have a reason to be in physical contact with Kira. It would be harder for Kira to accept him as more than a figment of his own imagination if L disappeared and reappeared right in front of him. Of course, there was more than one way for this physical contact to be initiated. L let a smirk cross his lips at the thought; but this was L, so the corner of his mouth curled up instead.. He never had been one for smirking. Carefully he slipped out of the crowd and onto the gilded pathway that lead up to Kira's pedestal. The crowd gasped in horror at this blatant disregard for the unspoken rules that governed their society.

Calmly, L walked up the path until he stood in front of the giant throne and beside the group that had brought the criminal in. He saw Raito's eyes narrow as he was noticed. It was just as he thought. People were still allowed freedom of thought, but when those who had thoughts contrary to Kira's ideals and acted upon them, they were noticed. This was, of course why Raito acknowledged him now.

"Why do you dare go against God's ideals?" Raito asked suspiciously.

"I don't," L lied through his teeth. "I just wanted to get your attention in what I believed was the best way possible."

"And what for, my little lamb?" Raito smiled. His expression was at once caring but condescending.

"I wish to aid you in the act of upholding your ideals, my Lord Kira."

To his surprise, Raito chuckled. "You amuse me," he said quietly. "But why do you impersonate my right hand and bringer of justice?"

"I do not," L replied honestly. "As you see, I wear no armour."

Kira looked mildly annoyed at being corrected. "I see. What can I do for you?"

"What would you have me do?" L asked softly. "I am willing to do anything."

"I would have you become a member of Kira's Missionaries. In that way, you could prove yourself to me," Kira said. "Not that you would betray me of course."

L nodded in what he hoped to be a convincing way. He almost wished he could walk up to Kira and say "Look! Wings!" and break his illusion that way, but unfortunately that would be against Kira's vision and as such would not register properly.

"Alright, now go with them," Kira ordered, pointing out the men who had just brought him and L's own look a like.

"As you wish, Kira-sama," L said. He gave a respectful bow and turned towards where the group was waiting.

His clone looked at him. "Shall we go?"

L nodded. His plan was in motion.

* * *

_Er... please review?_


	4. The Betrayer and The Mirror

_So yes, this chapter was fun to write. Did I mention yet how awesome you guys have been at reviewing? Thank you so much. This chapter is dedicated to all who have commented on my story._

_Also it should be important to note that L and Lawliet are two different people in this chapter._

**To YaoiOkami: **I'm glad that you like my story and your review made me laugh XD. Thank you.

**Disclaimer: **I am sure that by now it has been acknowledged that I do not own Death Note in any shape or form... Unless you count the fact that I own the entire manga series? No? Drat... foiled again.

* * *

**The Betrayer and the Mirror**

It was weird, L decided, to take orders from himself. It had been a few weeks since he had made the deal with Kira to prove his loyalty to the other. Unfortunately since then, no chance had come up where he could prove himself to the self-proclaimed God anyway.

He had gotten to know Lawliet and had found out that Kira had changed little about his mannerisms. The other still ate tons of sweets... or what he called sweets anyway. L had tried one when he had first seen Lawliet eating one and had spat it out in disgust. It had indeed tasted bitter to him. Lawliet was the only well rounded character of Kira's. There were many others at the high tech base for Kira's Missionaries, but all of them seemed to blindly follow Kira. It was rather similar to those Kira pep rallies that he had seen from Heaven when he was bringing one justice system after another to its knees. The same fanatical worship gleamed in their eyes. It was rather disturbing

Still... he found Lawliet's conversations with him entertaining. Kira had clearly truly respected him – well, as much as a narcissistic murderer with a god complex did. Lawliet's mind had been on the exact same level as his even though their opinions on many subjects differed greatly. He had expected that Kira would have dumbed him down a bit because he held himself in such high regard and the other had, of course, beaten him. At the same time, it was insulting that Kira would make such an outlandish replica of himself. Even though Lawliet had the intelligence of L, his morals and views of life reflected those of Kira.

As instructed by Lawliet, he had his own room, away from the regular guards. It wasn't anything fancy. A bed, a couple of chairs and a desk with a computer on it. The walls were painted entirely in a neutral shade of blue and the room was where L had spent most of his time since he had arrived.

It was creepy. The other Missionaries lived at the station, never going out unless it was for a bite to eat. L could easily see Kira in them. They seemed to have no life outside of justice... or at least Kira's form of it anyway. It was quite easy to think about really. Almost if not all of the moves that Kira had made before he died were aimed at his goal. These people were the same.

At the present time, the entire group had done nothing. There was no crime and surprisingly no training exercises. If L was to be honest with himself which he was almost all of the time... he had tired of this whole ordeal days ago. Currently he sat at his computer surfing the Internet. It was too much of a risk to his mission to write down his real thoughts, or even write an essay on some new idea he had. Everything was controlled by Kira. Even though he was already dead, since Kira ruled this little universe, if he did something to anger him, he might be obliterated from existence. That was not a comfortable thought.

L stared at his computer for a second before smirking slightly as his mind sparked with a new idea. Before this, he had only had a vague notion of what he was planning to do. Now he had a plan. There was a way to get Kira to recognize him as L... the true L instead of this fake that he had as his most loyal subject.

So it was with great anticipation that he waited for the next criminal.

A sudden tap at the door pulled L out of his thoughts.

"Come in," he said blandly knowing that only Lawliet would dare enter or indeed to knock. The other Missionaries generally avoided him which was fine with L. He turned towards the door expectantly.

"Lawliet-kun," L said. "Was there something that you needed me for?"

His reflection walked carefully over towards him and sat down by L who was currently still sitting by the desk.

"Yes there was," Lawliet said quietly. "I wanted to ask you something. Have you ever wondered if Kira's was the true justice?"

L's eyes widened in surprise and he bit his thumb thoughtfully. "This was certainly unexpected. What brought this up suddenly?"

"I've been thinking about it for a long time," the other replied quietly.

Not for the first time since meeting Lawliet, did L notice some big differences in between them. This was one of those times where they seemed to stand out most. He remained silent, waiting for the other to explain what he meant.

"I mean, sure some of those people that we went after deserved to die, but what about those that just stole something, or just lied to someone? Does that really give grounds for such severe punishment?"

L immediately began to play the devil's advocate. "If you didn't punish them severely, more would do that."

"Everyone seems to be a puppet around here," Lawliet said quietly ignoring his statement. "You and I seem to be the only ones truly alive. I think it is because everyone else is oppressed."

"So you believe that more freedom is worth sacrificing the lives of others, Lawliet-kun?"

"No I believe that lives should be sacrificed towards the concept of mercy," Lawliet stated quietly. "You have seen everyone else. Is that truly living?"

"No, Lawliet-kun," L said quietly. He then shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Are these thoughts that plague your mind not treason?"

"Yes, my mirror, yes they are," Lawliet murmured, distressed. "You do not know how it wounds me."

"You are right. I do not."

"I can see that you will not conspire with me."

"Correct, Lawliet-kun. I will be bringing you to Kira tomorrow," L said blandly.

The other sighed, downcast. "I suppose there is nothing that can be done, can there?"

"That is correct," L said. He turned away slightly, indicating that the conversation was over.

"It's strange. I thought I was the last person to ever even think about betraying God," Lawliet murmured standing. "I suppose that I'll just be going now..."

"Goodnight, Lawliet-kun," L said.

_No, I think that you were the most likely, proxy of Kira, _L thought. It was plain to see that the man before him was a part of Kira at the very least, designed to test his loyalties. This test was ridiculously simple to pass.

L sighed and shifted his eyes towards the unused bed. It was already past midnight. He hadn't slept there at all. Out of habit mostly, he preferred to just fall asleep wherever he happened to be at that moment in time. It was a sort of habit from when he was still alive. This meant that L had spent most of his sleeping time in the very chair he had occupied for most of his stay. At this moment in time, he felt as restless as ever. With his thoughts on what would happen tomorrow, he prepared to sit in the chair for the entire night and perhaps fine tune his plan for morning.

The sun came up early, bright and clear shining irritatingly on L's eyes. He got up out of his chair and exited his room. Lawliet came out of his personal quarters down the hall at the same time that L emerged from his. The former's shoulders were slouching slightly, one of the few mannerisms that Kira had held true to his copy. They headed for breakfast one last time in the meal hall downstairs.

It was a bright room, warm and welcoming. What happened when Lawliet stepped into the room was changed his view of this rather swiftly. Two of the strongest guards in the vicinity, and the very same ones that had brought the doomed thief to Kira immediately stood up from their tables. To his credit, Lawliet did not flinch as the men approached him and seized him by his upper arms. He did not even flinch when he was forced to sit down at the bench with those guards flanking him, one on each side. But he did when he looked up and met L's eyes from across the room.

It was strange. Though Lawliet was a proxy of Kira and a mimicry of both of them as a result, he seemed to be completely different from both of them. Either that, or he was a brilliant actor. L would never shrink away from someone's gaze, and neither would Kira.

As always since the incident with the bitter sweets, L didn't eat anything. He had been dead for a long time and didn't need to partake in such activities. Not that he would want to eat fake food anyway. Instead he spun his fork on his plate, pushing his food around idly, the knife twirling in his other hand as he thought.

Finally, the clock chimed eight am and it was time for them to go. L nodded towards the two guards holding Lawliet theorizing that they were under his command now. They gripped his shoulders and yanked him up. L led them through the door into the hallway, and finally out of the base.

It was a rather long walk to where Kira sat upon his throne watching over all creation. Those who saw the little procession of L leading and the two guards following close behind him began to whisper. The whisper soon turned to murmuring and the murmuring to a roar. All dropped whatever they were doing and either ran ahead to where Kira was, or followed the little procession that L was leading.

The stadium was already full when they entered. The people who had been following their procession seemed to melt away in the shadows. L looked up and saw the red carpet that led up to Kira's pedestal. The man smirked down at them as they stopped at his feet. Kira raised his hand and waved it almost carelessly. Silence immediately descended upon the eager crowd.

"Have you found your proof?" Kira asked, addressing his words towards L.

Kira seemed to be following some formality that he had instated. It was quite obvious that L had indeed found his proof.

L nodded. "I have indeed, My Lord."

"Then what is it?"

"The man right behind me." L stepped aside, allowing Kira a closer look even though it was fairly obvious who it was.

"Lawliet?" Kira said in an emotionless manner. "And what has this man done to earn my wrath?"

"He speaks words of treason, My Lord," L replied solemnly. "He spoke of showing kindness towards those who harmed our society."

A collective gasp of horror echoed throughout the entire stadium. Kira seemed to suppress a look of surprise as well.

"Lawliet, is this true?" he said quietly.

"Yes, My Lord, it is indeed true," Lawliet said.

He made a move to step forward and the guards automatically released him. Lawliet walked past L and stood in front of Kira.

"He has passed the test that you required me to give him."

"I see, and the test you gave him was?"

L mused that Kira had not changed in the least from the day they had first met. He still loved to hear himself talk.

"I told him that I was thinking about going against your will and your word, My Lord," Lawliet said.

Kira propped his head up on one elbow and regarded his knight expressionlessly. As if on cue, Lawliet fell to one knee.

"I have done all I can," he said.

"Yet betray me you still did," Kira said. His voice was deceptively soft.

"My Lord?" Lawliet's eyes widened in surprise.

"You had thoughts of going against me, didn't you?" Kira said quietly.

"No My Lord! You have to believe me. I didn't go against you. I would never," Lawliet's voice had turned to pleading.

"You say that, yet more lies fall from your lips," Kira said. The regret in his voice sounded fake. "I believe that there is only one punishment befitting your treason."

L swallowed hard as Lawliet's pleading grew ever louder. He stuck his left hand into his pocket as casually as possible and bit the thumb on the right. This was it. The angel then shook off all of his worries. After all, it wasn't like he hadn't broken the law, or his own code of morals before to achieve his own ends. These people weren't truly real in the first place. Whatever his actions were, they would not impact their meaningless lives as they had none.

"Please, I beg of you! Have mercy," Lawliet screamed.

"So you admit it clearly now," Kira said. "You do not truly support my vision. As for the mercy, I'm afraid not. Goo - "

Kira cut off when L tore his thumb out of his mouth and suddenly began to move. He raced the few steps up to beside Lawliet, and drew the butter knife from breakfast out of his pocket. Lawliet, as if jerked on strings, stood up and faced the original. There was no struggle as L seized his mirror's shoulder with his right and stabbed down hard into the other's chest with his left.

L then jumped back and watched the other double over gasping. Despite his pain, Lawliet looked on to him with a smile blood dribbling from his lips.

"Be sure to understand him," he mouthed. His eyes dulled and he collapsed to the ground motionless. White attire stained ruby red.

"Farewell, Lawliet-kun."

Kira's scream jerked L's eyes off of his dead copy and onto the self-proclaimed god. Kira's hands were clutching the sides of his head as he shrieked like a banshee. L's mind went blank and he turned back to himself. The world disappeared into a blinding light. The last thing he saw before the illusion shattered was his own soulless, dead eyes staring back at him.

* * *

_So yes, in case you were all wondering about how out of character Lawliet seemed to be, that's because he's a combination of both Kira and L and as such is different from both._

_Please review! falls on knees before the readers_


	5. Of Villains and Assignments

_So as of this chapter this story now has to points of view. L and Raito's, and the villains of the story. I found in my last long fan fiction my antagonist was not very well developed. Not much L and Raito in this chapter. Sorry, but it was necessary. Hides_

_To all of those who also read Shinigami. I will be editing chapter eight sometime this week as I think that it may have been a little too OOC for my tastes so heads up for that. And thank you for all of the reviews. They made me very happy XD.  
_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Death Note.

* * *

**Of Villains and Assignments**

The bright blinding sunlight played through the windows of the tiny aircraft. It had been a peaceful flight so far. Everyone on board was relaxed and if not just a little impatient. There was little entertainment to be found thousands of feet in the air and any conversation had died out hours ago.

The passengers gasped as an eerie sound, consistent with a shriek of pain tore through the air. The plane wobbled slightly and then stabilized. Little did the researchers – who were up there to count the polar bear population – know it was the sound of the death bell tolling for all but two.

Alfredo Paye fastened his seatbelt absently and entered another word on the crossword puzzle he was working on. The odd sound didn't concern him much. Most of the planes used up here were aged, clunky behemoths and long past their prime. The sound that the wind made outside his tiny window indicated nothing unusual to him.

The pale faces of other four that made up his team all indicated that they disagreed with his inner musings. He didn't expect anything different. After all, they were all on their first assignment and the tin can was old. A piece of hair fell into his face and he pushed it back rather automatically. What a weird turn his life had taken. When he was young, he had never thought that he would be going to the Canadian Arctic. And to count polar bears of all things! Ridiculous!

At the age of forty-two with dark hair and dark eyes, he was the first of his family to go straight. The only one that had not been involved with the world of underground crime in the past century. His family was rich because of their dealings; the 'discovery' and exchange of illegal artifacts. Many of his cousins, aunts and uncles were lawyers, arguing in cases against the family to keep their image polished and innocent to the public. When there were so many people related to each other with their foot in the world of unlawfulness, someone was bound to notice something after all.

Alfredo had broken away from that at in high school, discovering a passion for climatology and endangered species of all things. It had taken a lot of effort to defeat his parents on the issue. They, of course wanted him to join the family business of illegal trade. He had countered that it wouldn't be so bad to have someone from his family so obviously on the respectable side of the law.

It was only recently that he had begun to despise his job. Sure it was interesting and exciting, but at the same time he wished for something more. There was a certain adrenalin rush that came with disobeying the law. One that he hadn't felt since he was fifteen. Part of him longed to feel it again. He shook his head. _Maybe I am just going through my midlife crisis, _he thought.

The high pitched screech of metal could now be heard above the storm. Alfredo whipped his head around to stare out the window, only to be blinded by the light being reflected off the wing. There was a rattling sound that seemed to come from outside. That was definitely not normal. The rattling quit suddenly and the entire plane tipped wildly to the right. As they tumbled around, helpless in the arms of the storm, Alfredo was dimly aware of the screams of terror coming from the others around him.

* * *

It was deathly silent when Alfredo awoke. The position he was lying in was a painful one. He tried to sit up, only to find that something against his chest prevented him from doing so. Alfredo shivered violently. It was cold, oh so very cold. Cautiously, he cracked open his eyes and then snapped them shut against the brightness.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel as affected by the cold as he should have. His discomfort was lessoning by the moment and he was beginning to feel warm. In a distant corner of a mind he was reminded that it was not necessarily a good thing considering where he was. By all rights, he should not have woken up at all in the first place. Alfredo's eyes snapped open as the memories of what had happened filled his mind.

Well it was no wonder that he couldn't move. He was still in his seat, clad in only a plaid shirt and jeans... outside the plane. Carefully, he forced his freezing fingers to move and unbuckle his seatbelt. The strap moved without a sound as he slid it away from his body. That was odd. He shifted off of the chair and onto his knees. Carefully, he staggered to his feet. Again the snow seemed to move almost silently.

Then it occurred to him. He was deaf! He prayed that it was only temporary. There was a chance that it was.

It was only then that he became aware of a scent. An acrid burning stench of fuel, burnt metal and carbonized flesh filled his nose to the point where he was hardly aware of anything else. Alfredo turned around only to be met with a sight that he knew would be with him for the rest of his life.

The ground had turned to slush around the crash site. Even at these temperatures the inferno still raged. Blackened bits of metal were strewn about the place. Some embedded into the newly formed slush and others just resting on top. He stumbled closer, unable to stop himself from making his way towards the main body of the plane, which had been rent in two by the landing. It was then that he could hear the screams, high and piercing. They grew louder and were accompanied with the crackling of the fire as his hearing fully recovered. Alfredo took a few hesitant steps towards the fire, but he knew that it was already too late. It was simply too hot to go near the wreckage. Slowly he turned away, feeling like a criminal for staying there to keep warm. _Correction, _he thought grimly. _This will not only stay with me for the rest of my life, it will also give me nightmares._

He glanced around for anything to take his eyes off of the wreckage and was stunned to see a body underneath some wreckage nearby. On stiffening legs, he stumbled over to where the other lay. It was the youngest on his team. A twenty-six year old man of middling height with red hair and blue eyes had one of his arms thrown across his face. The man was still strapped in his seat, but the seat was on its back. He bent down and hefted the piece of airplane siding that was on him.

"Gary?" he said. "Gary are you alright?"

"My name is Richard," came the dry answer. "Man I'm freezing... well I should be freezing but I'm not even cold! And my ribs hurt like hell."

Alfredo just looked at him. "The reason you are freezing is because you are too far away from the crash to have been kept warm by the fire." He gestured behind him.

"Can't we save them?" Richard asked. There was only one scream sounding now and it was quickly dying out as well.

Alfredo shook his head and unbuckled the seatbelt holding the other in place. "How are your ribs?"

Cautiously, Richard ran his fingers along them, wincing as they caught a couple of times. "I think a couple are broken."

Alfredo just shook his head and helped the other man to his feet. Without any real conscious decision, they began to walk.

"Uh thanks for the, you know, whole saving my life thing," Richard said awkwardly. "Any idea where we are?"

"Not really," Alfredo replied.

"Man, I'm so tired."

"That's because you are freezing to death."

"I knew that," came the laid back reply.

"Sure you did,"

"So why are we walking if we are just going to die?"

"Do you just want to give up?" Alfredo said in disbelief.

"Nope. Just wondering. Do you see something over there?" Richard gestured towards a spot on the horizon.

"Yeah. Snow."

"No. I'm serious. Look."

Alfredo looked harder. Sure enough, in the distance was a building. It looked like an igloo, yet the way the light bounced off of it indicated that it wasn't made of snow. It seemed much more metallic. With a renewed vigor, they both began to walk toward it a little faster, forcing their frozen limbs to move.

It was only a few minute walk until they found themselves reaching it, but it felt a lot longer than that.

"An abandoned research facility?" Richard hazarded a guess.

"No," Alfredo said as he circled it, looking for a way to enter. "It's American."

"American? But I thought we were in Canada!"

"The Americans did a lot of tests up in the Canadian Arctic with the permission of the Canadian government. They also put in a couple of early warning systems for nuclear devices."

"You mean like the Cold War?"

"Exactly."

They turned the corner, well as much of a corner as there was on a windowless, round building.

"A door!" Richard exclaimed. "Thank god!"

Alfredo reached out and tried to open the door. Of course, it didn't budge in the least. He rammed his shoulder against it. Hard.

"I can't tell if it is locked or just stuck," he grumbled.

He rammed it again while Jacobs watched.

"Well are you just going to stand there, or are you actually going to help me?"

"Broken ribs remember?"

"Tough. Help me anyway."

Richard added his weight against the door reluctantly.

This time when they both heaved, the door swung open with a bang and they nearly fell inside.

"Let's hope the generator still works," Alfredo muttered. Richard stumbled inside ahead of him, cursing in pain. He left the door open for light and groped along the wall in the darkness. Almost immediately, he found a switch and flicked it experimentally. To his immense relief, the room was immediately filled with light.

Scattered about the room were a bunch of empty tables made of stainless steel. The walls were unadorned except for a door to both the left and to the right. It was to be expected in a facility like this. Alfredo went back over to where they had entered and slammed the door shut.

Alfredo couldn't believe their luck. Not only had they survived the plane crash in the middle of the Arctic and found shelter, but they also had reached it. That it actually had electricity and most likely heat as well. It boggled his mind. He forced the thought away. There was time to be overwhelmed with the feeling of luck and gratitude later. Right now, they were still in danger of freezing.

Richard flicked the switch on the thermostat over by the wall. There was a grinding sound as the heaters clattered to life. Alfredo glanced around. From what he could see, the building was divided into quarters, with where they were standing serving as the entrance and what was left of the lab. _So it was a research facility after all, _he noted.

"We should find the kitchen," Alfredo said. "There should be a stove in there. It'll heat up faster than a furnace and we really need to get warm."

Alfred lead the way over to the door on the left and opened it. Sure enough, there was a small cafeteria complete with a fridge and stove. He immediately made his way over to it and opened the oven door. He turned the thing up to about four hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit and just stood there on weakened legs as he almost immediately began to feel warmer.

Richard went over to the fridge and opened the door.

"What are you doing?" Alfredo asked turning to where the younger man was.

"Uh, you might want to come see this," Richard pulled something out of the fridge and turned back to Alfredo.

A vial of clear liquid was in his hand. Alfredo reached out and took it from him and rotated the thing with great interest. He absently noticed the biohazard sign as well as the label that said _Variola major and influenza. _Alfredo's blood ran cold even as his heart raced with excitement. Could this be what he thought it was? A manufactured virus?

If it was, he was a lot luckier than he originally thought.

* * *

L blinked as he found himself standing in front of the throne of God, the golden sound of angels singing surrounding him.

"What is this?" L turned and saw Kira standing there calmly, despite the fact that his illusion had just been shattered into dust. Their eyes met, and L turned away. Then again, even L had to admit that the other was a rather adaptable creature.

"Who are you?" the murderer stated calmly turning to God.

"I find myself unsurprised that you do not recognize me for what I am, Raito Yagami," God said stated. He waved his hand and the angels lapsed into silence, looking up at him with adoration in their eyes. "I am God."

Kira opened his mouth to protest and shut it. L had to hold back a smirk. There were very few things that could actually render the other speechless. He had seen this first hand.

Finally, Kira swallowed and said. "God you may be of this old world you created, but God I will be of the new world that will come by my hands."

God laughed. "Many mortals often make that mistake. You are lucky I have a use for you, Raito Yagami."

"Oh?"

"I have need for your talents," God stated. "What you can do falls under the influence of the Shinigami King, and I cannot give it to an archangel. Even though your illusion is broken, you still retain the power to kill on a whim."

"And who do you want me to kill? Couldn't you just do that yourself?" Kira asked dryly.

"I could, but where would be the fun in that?" God smiled. It was clear that he was enjoying himself.

"..."

"To know the past, present and future simultaneously makes for a very boring life. Not to mention answering the prayers that come from below. I may love those whom I created, but it does get tedious. That's why, I do something to entertain me every once in awhile. I pick the route of the future that would be the most interesting and allow it to play out."

God then switched gears without any preamble. "Only those souls that are deemed incurable are sent to Nothingness, to Mu. I am giving you a chance at redemption. In return for offering your services, I will give you two options. One is to return to Nothingness and rule over your world.

" The other is much more interesting than that. For this mission you will be given a new body. Upon completion the other choice is to keep it and to retain all of the powers you currently hold. However, you will have to evade my messengers of death for one year. If you fail, you will go back to Nothingness. Do you agree with these terms?"

Kira raised his eyebrow. "I'm not agreeing to anything until you tell me what I'm supposed to be doing," Raito said.

"Humanity stands at a crossroads. One path will result in its obliteration and the other in prosperity. As we speak, a research plane has crashed in a remote area of the Canadian Arctic. The two men that survive will find something that which has the ability to bring on the first end. I do not want that," God stated. "These two men have found and entered an abandoned lab up there. They have found a vial containing an alternate type of smallpox concocted by the American government to use against the Russians during the Cold War.

"All they have to do is find someone who has both money and would gain something from a world in the midst of a pandemic."

"Won't some have immunity to the disease?" L inquired.

"In a sense," God answered reluctantly. "One in every thousand will survive, but they would not be able to produce offspring. Of course Lawliet, as always your reward is the entertainment you gain from this."

A portal opened up in the ground. Raito and L were pulled through before either could say anything else. L and Kira glanced up. They were standing in front of the building that L had built for the Kira case seven years ago.

Despite everything, L had to admit that standing there in the warm sunlight and alive again for the first time in several years felt really good.

"I didn't agree," Kira stated suddenly.

"Would you have?"

"Yes."

"To Him, agreeing and the willingness to agree to a deal are the same thing." L said quietly. "Come on Kira-kun, we must get in contact with Near."

* * *

_Variola Major is a type of virus that causes smallpox. Yes smallpox has been eradicated, but it still exists as samples and for future vaccines. _

_So this is the first time that OCs will play a major role in one of my stories. Please please PLEASE tell me what you think on this because it is very important to me to make sure that the characters are believable and that the writing style is consistent. _

* * *


	6. Home is Where the Heart is

_So... this is probably my least favourite chapter so far. I am still not satisfied with how it turned out, but it doesn't seem to want to get any better. Also I have a poll at the end of this chapter so be sure to tell me what you think._

_Thanks to YaoiOkami for pointing out my need of revising for the last chapter..._

**Disclaimer**: I only own the plot and my OCs. I don't own Death Note and am not making any profit off of this story

* * *

**Home is where the Heart is**

"Where exactly is _Near_?" He spat the name out like it was something filthy.

"He's still in New York, Kira-kun," L said. "You need to take us to your mother's home. She'll most likely shelter us until we get our affairs in order."

"Fine," Kira started walking down the street.

"How long until we get there?" L said curiously.

"It will take us about an hour."

L suppressed a shiver. He was craving sugar. That was as in truly craving it, not like in heaven where he only ate for fun. He stayed silent for a few more minutes before speaking up. "Kira-kun, I want cake."

Kira turned his head towards him and continued to walk. "You'll just have to wait."

"But my reasoning ability drops by sixty percent when I don't have it. And I'll pass out," L said.

"We don't have any money."

"Well, we can steal it then," L said.

Kira didn't reply and kept walking.

"Well?" L prompted.

"That's against the law," Kira said.

L pouted. "You are Kira, Kira-kun. You broke the law almost daily. How would this be any different?"

"I am God," Kira said. L could see that his red eyes were blazing with fury. "I never broke the law. Stealing would be breaking the law."

L couldn't help it. He burst out laughing. Kira's eyes widened in rage and shock. He had never heard the detective laugh before. It was the oddest and most out of character sound. It was a little raspy, but that didn't stop it from ringing in his ears.

"What do you find so amusing about this situation?" he snarled. His fingers curled into a fist.

"I just find it amusing that even though Kira-kun has met God, he still considers himself God," L said. He was already expressionless again.

"I doubt he was really God," Kira said. "He only claimed to be God. Even if he is, this world is already mine. Even now the masses call out for Kira to save them from the criminals and evil politicians who plague them."

The sad part was that he was at least partially correct. Ever since Kira had died, crime rates around the world had skyrocketed and were well on their way back to their original levels. After nearly six years of world peace, wars were again breaking out. L scowled internally. No matter what, he would never accept Kira as God. Even if there was war breaking out. Kira was just too arrogant.

Outwardly he just shook his head. "Kira-kun can believe what he likes."

When they finally arrived, Kira hesitated at the gate before walking up the driveway. L was two steps behind him when Kira rapped his knuckles on the door. L noticed that the other was standing differently. His features were softer and his eyes were no longer red, but honey brown. It was clear that he had fallen back into his perfect son act with all the ease of slipping on a mask.

Sachiko Yagami opened the door and paled. The towel she had been using to dry her hands passed through her now lax fingers and fell to the floor. She seemed to collect herself before bringing up a smile that was obviously pained.

"I-I'm sorry," she said. "You reminded me of someone I once knew."

"Mother," Kira said. "It _is _me. Raito."

To her credit, Sachiko did not faint, though she wobbled, before gabbing onto the doorframe so tightly, her knuckles turned white.

"My son is dead," she said. "I buried him."

"I lived in heaven until recently," Kira replied. "I was sent down to Earth to stop a potential disaster."

"No... no this can't be true," she said. Her other hand flew to the side of her head.

"Sayu wet her bed until she was nine," Kira stated. "Mother, I know that this is hard to believe -"

"Y – you better both come inside."

Sachiko stepped aside to allow them room to enter. "Please be quiet, Sayu's sleeping."

Kira stepped inside, with L right behind them. Silently, Sachiko lead them to the living room. It was a simply decorated room, with brand new furniture. A love seat lay in front of a large television, and a large, comfortable chair stood a little off to the side. L and Kira both sat on the love seat, while Sachiko took the chair. Even from there, L could tell she was holding back tears.

"What do you want from me?" she asked.

"We were sent down to Earth to stop a plague. We were not sent down with the proper documentation to get where we need to go, New York," L said. "We just need to stay a night or two and have access to a computer so that I can get to the accounts that I had when I was alive."

"Who are you?" she said.

"Ah forgive me, my name is L Lawliet, Yagami-san. I am your son's partner on this mission," L said. "Raito-kun has told me much about you and Sayu."

"So, you are really Raito? I am not going crazy?" Sachiko said.

Kira stood up and looked his mother in the eyes. "Yes, Mother, it is me. You are not going crazy."

Sachiko began to weep openly. She got to her feet and hugged her son. Kira returned the hug without hesitation.

"You know I am still dead," Kira said gently.

"I'm just glad you are okay," she said.

Sachiko let go of Kira and collected herself once more. "Alright. You can stay in Raito's room for as long as you need to."

"Thank you, Mother," Kira said. "We'll get started."

"Tell me if you want any snacks!" she called after their retreating forms.

L hesitated at that, wishing to ask for cake. Without even breaking his stride, Kira dragged him along with him. L figured that Kira had the right idea. It would do no good to tax Sachiko's hospitality more than they were already. Even if he really did want some cake.

Kira leaned against the door and stilled as he stared at his room. It had been turned into a comfortable combination of a computer room and a guest room when he had moved out a couple of years ago. The computer was new. Other than that, the only furnishings were a bed and a side table with a lamp sitting on it.

L had the feeling that Sachiko had just wanted to forget what had happened to her family. There were no pictures on the walls of Kira or Soichiro. In fact, there hadn't been any pictures at all except for one with Sayu in her wheelchair and Sachiko standing behind her in the entrance hall.

Kira slipped into the chair in front of the computer and booted the machine up. As it whirred to life, L came over and stood beside him. There was no password on the computer which made it a rather easy task for L, who had taken possession of the mouse, to get to the Internet.

"This will take awhile, Kira-kun," L said shooing him away from the chair. "I have many encryptions of my own design to bypass. These accounts were meant to be left untouched unless the current L had an emergency. I never had a chance to give the programs back door entrances."

True to his word, it was nearly dark before L broke through the last of the coding and was able to access his accounts. He turned back and noticed that Kira had fallen asleep out of sheer boredom. Kira had tried to help at first, but L had outright refused aid of any kind.

"Raito! Lawliet-san! Dinner!" came a yell from downstairs.

Kira's red eyes opened and he sighed. After blinking a couple of times, they turned honey brown once more. He stood up and stretched, before glancing over at L.

"Have you gotten access to your accounts yet?" he asked.

"Yes I have," L said quietly. "Let us go downstairs."

"I thought you hated real food," Kira replied.

"I do, Kira-kun," L said. "I am just going to close my eyes and pretend it tastes like candy."

"Doesn't that make eating it more disappointing?"

"Not really," L said.

They left the room together and ventured downstairs to the dining room. L entered first. Despite all the signs of Sachiko's desire to forget about Raito and Soichiro, it was evident that she had worked hard to prepare their meal.

Sayu was at the table, her head bowed down slightly as she stared at her plate. She looked up when Kira entered the room and blinked.

"R-Raito?" she asked dazedly. Her voice was raspy, as if it hadn't been used in a long time. "It _is_ you, Brother! Mother is so mean. She said that you had died,"

"Sayu, I am dead," Kira said gently. "I was just sent back to do an important mission."

"Ah," she said.

On whole, the meal was probably the most awkward thing that L had to sit through. Kira was perfectly polite, and Sachiko had been overjoyed to hear Sayu speak. Apparently she hadn't since Raito died about six months before. At the same time, the comfortable atmosphere had an undercurrent of the feeling that always seemed to hang heavily when the participants of a conversation didn't know what to say but were making an effort. It was still clear to him that Sachiko didn't want either of them there.

After dinner, Sachiko brought out a cake, which L was overjoyed to see after dealing with a meal of home fried tempura and fish.

It was just after sunset when L and Kira found themselves back upstairs.

"We'll need passports," Kira said as L created an account at a local bank. "How do you propose we get those?"

"That's easy, Kira-kun," L said. "I happen to know of two people who do great work with passports. We'll go have our photo taken tomorrow."

* * *

Alfredo pulled his sneakers off as soon as the room they were in had warmed up enough to allow for it. Beside him, Richard sighed happily at the heat filling his body. He sat down on the counter and began to rub his foot with slightly blackened fingers to stimulate blood flow. Fiery pain soon occupied most of his attention. He groaned. It felt like he had plunged his foot and hands into a pile of burning oil.

Then he noticed something peculiar. His toes didn't hurt. Frantically he pulled off his socks and gazed down at the remains of his feet in dismay. The top half of each toe was blackened. Dead. Alfredo sighed. There was little hope for them. If they did make it back to civilization, the ends of his toes, along with his fingertips, would have to be removed.

"Dude, that looks painful," Richard said, leaning over in interest.

"You might want to check your own toes too," Alfredo said. "After all, your fingers look pretty similar to mine."

Richard shrugged and did as he was told. The damage was just as bad as Alfredo's was. The toes were black, like they had been covered in soot.

"Whoa," he breathed.

"Whoa indeed," Alfredo replied. He couldn't help but feel smug, now that someone was sharing that particular misery. "You will have to get the tips amputated as well."

"Do you think that the rest of the base will be warm by now, Alfredo?" Richard asked.

"Most likely," Alfredo replied. "And don't call me that."

Richard snapped his hand to his temple in a mock salute. "Yes Mr. Paye sir!"

Alfredo wisely chose to ignore him. Inwardly he wondered why Richard had retained the slang when he was far too old to use it. At the age of twenty-six, he should have dropped the idiosyncrasies by now.

"Richard will you do me a favour?" he said.

"What is it Mr. Paye sir?" Richard asked.

"Don't use slang."

"No can do, Mr. Paye," Richard replied. "I'm going to go take a look around."

Alfredo watched as Richard left the room before turning around and starting on the kitchen – specimen storage container. He started by opening all of the cupboards. Nothing edible, but he did find pots and pans. He opened the fridge. It was white and empty, bearing the same look as the world around them did.

Richard came back into the room, holding a double-bladed knife. "I searched the entire base and found a knife, a room with beds and blankets, and a some clothes for outside."

"You already searched the entire base?" Alfredo shook his head in disbelief.

"Well, you know, I just went through all the rooms and stuff. Didn't stay in any of them for too long," Richard admitted.

Alfredo sighed in frustration and cast his eyes around the kitchen once more. There was no food anywhere on the base at all and Richard was probably one of the laziest people he had met in the last year. _How is it, _he wondered. _That there is a virus here that can most likely be sold, but no food? _There were probably animals around that they could capture and eat, but they also had nothing to go hunting with except for a rather large knife that Richard had found somewhere earlier. It seemed that the people who had occupied this laboratory had left quickly and carelessly. There were still blankets and clothes, but Alfredo bet that the pipes had long since frozen.

The absence of food pointed to the idea that those who had lived on the base had hunted. It wasn't uncommon. After all, there wasn't a grocery store anywhere nearby and from what he heard the Inuit people got on fine with hunting. Alfredo resolved to look over the base more thoroughly. It was likely that there was at least one type of weapon that they could use to hunt up here.

In the end, it didn't matter to him. There was a large enough source for water in the form of the icy ground outside. He knew that people could stay alive for a few weeks at least on nothing but water. He touched the vial that was in his pocket and smiled.

* * *

Here's the poll:

Do you want the story to focus on:

Mainly L and Raito with minimal participation from the OCs

or half and half?

_I'm more curious about your guys' opinion than anything. I have already gotten a lot of good feedback about the OCs. I'll probably just do it the way I want to anyway. So review and tell me what you guys think. _


	7. Near

_Er... why is this up so late in the day, you ask? I was sick this week and had to work on my days off to make up the hours. I am poor and have to work to pay for school T.T. Anyway, I had fun with this chapter despite that and am now pretty tired. Enjoy the fruits of my labour._

_As for the poll... most people said that they would prefer me not to do anything with my OC's that was not necessary for the plot and to not have them dominate the storyline. I will be putting a little of L and Kira in each chapter_ _of course, but there will be a couple of chapters in the future where Alfredo dominates because I have a need to explain his motive. Villains are kind of flat if you don't know their reasons very well or just meet them near the end of the story in my opinion. I have read books like that._

_I thank all of you who voted in the poll._

**Disclaimer**: If I owned Death Note... I probably would still be writing fanfiction about it.

* * *

L could see an overwhelming relief in Sachiko's eyes when she bade them farewell a few days later. If Kira had noticed his mother's apprehension throughout their entire visit, he hadn't commented on it. They had seen little of Sayu, except during meals. The girl seemed to prefer sitting outside in the backyard under the cherry blossom tree and often hadn't moved for several hours. Once or twice, Kira had joined her and just stared up into the browning tree leaves. It was far too late in the year for blossoms.

Seeing actions like this made L feel like there was some hope for Kira. That some day he would be the Raito that he had seen during the times they were both hunting Higuchi. Logically, he knew that it was impossible. That Raito was gone. His soul forever tainted by the Death Note.

L bit his thumb a bit harder than usual and clutched his suitcase – bought at the same time as the passports – hoping to clear his heads of such impossibilities. He hastily walked down the path that lead to the front sidewalk where a cab was waiting. Kira was two steps behind him with his own bag.

It didn't take long for them to get to the airport. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for getting through security. There hadn't been a terrorist attack on the major airlines in a couple of years, but it didn't seem like the airline personnel had gotten any less vigilant. The man examining their passports dallied a little longer than L would have liked, but in the end was fooled and handed them back to L with a smile. Then again, vigilance didn't mean effective.

L and Kira walked through the metal detectors without any incident and stood in line to board the plane. Behind them, a baby wailed its distress. L just waited it out, knowing that the child would go with its mother in coach. It was just a good thing that L didn't plan on being there.

Finally, the call for the first class passengers was rang out over the heads of the people in line and waiting off to the side. L and Kira were at the head of the group and they found their seats with ease. L sat down in the seat closest to the window and opened the little shutter over it. He paid no mind as Kira sat beside him, instead opting to gaze out the window at the workers who moved about their various tasks like so many ants.

He was broken out of his reverie by the sound of a child's cry. It sounded like the same one from earlier as well. L glared. He knew that the calls for any of the lower levels of seating hadn't been put forward yet. L's mood didn't improve as the woman holding the baby passed by him and sat down behind their seat. The baby didn't quiet down until just before take off.

The plane moved towards the runway and accelerated suddenly, pushing everyone back into their seats. L felt his ears pop as the plane gained height swiftly. Behind him, the child began to cry once again. He resisted the urge to bang his head against the seat in front of him and wished for some sugar.

The flight attendant in a blue uniform came by a few hours later pushing a cart. She stopped by Kira and L and smiled.

"Is there anything you would like?" she asked politely staring more at Kira than L.

"Do you have any strawberry shortcake?" L asked.

"Er... I'm sorry sir, no we don't," she said shortly and then went back to ogling Kira.

"Any chocolate cake?" L said hopefully.

"Yes," she said. The flight attendant bent down and grabbed a small, packaged piece of cake. "That'll be four seventy-five."

L handed her the money. Once again, she turned back to Kira. "Would you like anything?"

"A turkey sandwich if you have it," Kira replied flashing a dazzling smile at her. She pinked slightly and handed it to him. "That'll be four seventy-five and don't tell anyone but - " she pulled out to L's annoyance, a piece of strawberry shortcake and handed it to Kira. "Okay?"

Kira smiled at her and handed her the money he owed her. "Thank you," he said.

The flight attendant moved onto the next row and Kira pulled his table down to set his saran-wrapped sandwich on top of it.

Without looking to see L's reaction, he plunked the strawberry shortcake down in front of the pouting detective and went back to his sandwich. "Here. You know I don't like sweets," he said.

"Thank you Raito-kun," L replied and dug in.

The rest of the flight passed smoothly, though the baby still wailed through the entire thing. L exited the plane with the feeling that, like many before had, that small children should not be allowed anywhere near a plane.

"Ryuzaki," Kira said. "Why are we going to see _Near_?"

The name was spat once again like a swear.

"Because, Kira-kun," L replied for what seemed like the umpteenth time to him.

"I think that I should know," Kira replied. "Since we are cooperating on this issue."

"We are going to retrieve a list of the current well-known names of underground crime lords," L replied. "And I want to thank Near for avenging my death."

To L's amusement, Kira looked mildly offended. Then again L had just said he was happy that Kira had died. He didn't know why that was such a shock to the other man. He had been glad to witness it too. To have Kira stare up into his face even as he died on the stairs near that warehouse. It had been rather satisfying.

Kira stood there and waited with the bags while L went and phoned a taxi from a local pay phone. There were several there in the New York airport.

It turned out that Near's headquarters weren't that far from the airport. They were rather unobtrusive as well. Disguised as a tall, aging office building, it looked like it belonged to a business long gone. L had been sure to explain to Kira that there wasn't much that would entertain him in heaven and that he had taken to watching Near as well as making sure he knew the major issues and technology in the world. After all, he was an archangel and it meant he had to come back down to Earth sometime.

L looked at the lock that was on the door and noticed that there was a simple type of intercom. He pushed the button.

"Hello," he said. "It's been awhile."

"Excuse me," came the reply. "Who is this."

"This is L." It was clear that the former detective enjoyed saying that. "Kira is with me as well."

"That is impossible."

"Is it _Near_?" L said.

"You may come in." The sound of a button being pressed made its way over the intercom and the door slid open. "Please take the elevator down to the Basement Level Two."

L and Kira stepped into the empty entranceway and walked across the floor to the elevator. L made sure to hit the button needed and the doors closed with a pinging sound.

They stepped into the underground room a few minutes later. The room was bare, if one didn't count the city of cards that filled about half of the available floorspace. Near sat beside a half built skyscraper, pointing a colourful plastic gun towards them.

"Let me assure you that this is not a toy," Near said calmly.

"Near. This is L. You are, of course, acquainted with Kira-kun I presume?" L said.

"I believe he is Kira," Near said at last. "And I believe you are L. You don't have much to gain from claiming to be him."

"I have a favour to ask," L started. "I presume you still have some of the data that I put aside for you and Mello before I died?"

"Yes, I do," Near replied. "In return, please tell me what you have been doing all of this time."

L bristled slightly but gave him a brief overview anyway. Immediately afterwards, Near turned and faced Kira. He just gave him the same demented grin that Kira had seen the day that he had died.

"Do you still believe that you are the only one to exact justice properly? It is ironic really. The one who claims the world rots is the most rotten of them all! After all, you are so rotten that God himself had to lock you up away from the afterlife." It was clear that Near only said this to antagonize Kira.

"He locked me up because he feared me," Kira bit out evenly. "He feared me taking his place."

"And if he feared you, what does that make me, the one who defeated you?" It was clear that Near was enjoying this and Kira was too blinded by his own fury to see it. "Does that mean that I am now God?"

"Besides, what does God have to fear from you Kira? He is, after all, much more powerful than you will ever be. That is why he could lock you away in the first place. You are only human. It matters not the weapons you wield. That fact will never change."

Kira snarled angrily trying to hold back his temper. His eyes widened and flashed a more violent shade of red than usual. His pupils were dilated and were the same tint as dried blood.

"Insolence," he snarled. With those parting words, Kira whirled around and stalked back to the elevator. It was still waiting there and opened when he pressed the button. He stepped into the elevator and hit the door to close it without so much as a backwards glance.

L turned back to where Near sat. "Will you tell me where that data is?"

"Yes on Basement Level 3," Near replied. turning back to his tower of cards. "You may go there and get it. Don't knock any of the card towers on your way out."

"I have one word of advice that I have wanted to give for a long time, Near," L said as he began to walk towards the door. "There is a time, a place and a way to be arrogant. Taunting someone who could kill you with just a flick of his will while he is front of you is a good way to get killed."

With that, L went and retrieved all of the data he thought he needed out of Basement Level 3.

Kira was standing outside, staring up at the Near's building when L came out. It was clear right away that Kira was still extremely angry.

"I could kill him right now," he murmured as L approached him. "I am God."

"No you are not, Kira-kun," L said. "What he said was true."

"I am not rotten!"

"I did not say that," L replied.

"Yes you did. You said that what _Near _said down there was true," Kira clenched his fists and he was breathing heavily. "That meant that you believe that he was God in my place and that I am the more rotten than any of the criminals that I killed for the goodness of mankind!"

"Kira-kun I - "

L was cut off as Kira continued. "Well I am out of here. I will get in touch with you later."

The man turned away from L and walked away down the street.

L bit his thumb. As he turned to walk in the opposite direction, he couldn't help but think that even now Kira still liked to hear himself talk. It was with a faint pang of regret in which he hunched his shoulders and walked off.

* * *

Alfredo stared at his blackened hands with regret and closed his eyes. It had been three days since they had been stranded in the middle of this icy hell. Three days since he had anything to eat and three days since he had found that vial. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared at it again thinking about what fortune it would bring for him. It certainly was more interesting than Richard, who was cheerful in spite of the new hollowness in his face and the almost certain death that faced them both. The fact that he was asleep now made him glad. He would savour these few hours of peace.

It was almost cruel to think that they had been offered a salvation such as this. They would only die a much more slow death now. He had heard somewhere that starving to death was one of the most painful ways to die. That it had lead to cannibalism a few times in the older parts of the world, where technology had not yet reached.

Alfredo rotated the little vial in his hand once again and felt his fingers – the living part of them throb. In the type of situation he was in, it wasn't surprising to think that infection was setting into his hands from the frostbite. After all, the parts that were dead were literally going to rot off of him. He feared pain much too deeply to amputate them himself with the knife Richard had found.

It was then that he became aware of a clattering sound, like that of a prisoner rubbing an empty cup against his cell bars in one of those old classical movies. Then the lights went out. He felt his blood run cold, as if in anticipation of what he would be feeling in a few hours.

* * *

_So yeah... I exaggerated Near's sadistic side a bit because I wanted L and Kira to be apart for a bit of this story and well when I wrote him as in character as I could, he just told them what they needed to know and warned against knocking his card towers over._

_Please review!_


	8. NOTICE PLEASE READ!

This is a notice to all of my readers. After giving it much thought over the last few weeks, I have finally decided that Pestilence is going on hiatus. I have wandered off the original path of where I wanted to take the story and it is beginning to sound like a twin of Shinigami to me in some parts. Heck, I've even sent the characters from both stories to the same place! Writing anymore along the path that this story is taking would be like squeezing blood from stone. I will be taking the time to tear the story apart, figure out where I went wrong (I have a suspicion), and put it back together again. I am sorry for this, but I feel it is necessary. I will not be writing it again until I have a clear outline. I will still be updating Shinigami every two weeks as I am having no problems with that story. I hope that the quality of those chapters will improve. I will be working with some other stories on the side. Look forward to a couple of oneshots in the near future since I am about halfway through writing them.

Once again, I do apologize.


End file.
